JERSEY CITY, N.J. — The New Jersey City University men's basketball team opened up home play for the 2023-24 season on Saturday, Nov. 18, as Misericordia University visited the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center (JMAC). The Cougars got up big on the Gothic Knights midway through the second half, but NJCU clawed its way back to make it a one possession game in the final minutes. However, the visitors managed to come away with the 82-76 win with some late foul shots.

Trailing by six, 14-8, early in the first half, NJCU (1-2) stormed back to take a few leads, including as late as 20-19 with 13:59 to go before the break, thanks in part to five points apiece for junior guard Hakeem Wilson (Newark, N.J./North Star Academy) and senior co-captain guard Will Brown III (Jersey City, N.J./Hudson Catholic) — Wilson ended up leading the Gothic Knights on the day with a career-best 19 points, including a 4-of-6 day from beyond the three-point arc. The Cougars (4-0) started to pull away once again, however, and led by seven at 28-21 with 12:09 left until the half.

The Gothic Knights then exploded for eight straight points to go up by one at 29-28 with 9:23 to go, featuring threes from junior guard AJ Aviles (West New York, N.J./Memorial) and graduate student co-captain forward Daniel Rodriguez (Newark, N.J./Hudson Catholic), as well as a block from junior forward Ryan Savoy (Lakewood, N.J./Lakewood) that turned into a fastbreak lay-in for sophomore guard Bakhi Rogers-Robinson (Orange, N.J./West Caldwell Tech). The game was later knotted up at 33-33 with 5:26 remaining in the first, but it was Misericordia that took a 46-40 lead into the break.

To start the second half, the Cougars stretched that lead out to a game-high 14 points at 58-44 with 16:09 left in regulation. From that point forward, NJCU whittled the deficit down slowly until the home team trailed by just two points at 74-72 with 1:54 to go. Then, another fastreak bucket from Rogers-Robinson maintained the one possession game for the Gothic Knights with just 14 seconds to go. However, Misericordia hit three of its four free throws down the stretch and the Gothic Knights were unable to convert on their lone field goal attempt over those final moments before the buzzer sounded.

Highlights:
- Wilson saw a career-high 32 minutes and added four boards, a steal and an assist to his performance.
- Senior forward Avante Gilbert (Paterson, N.J./International) continued his consistent start to the season with 16 points on 7-of-12 from the floor. He added six boards, an assist, a block and a steal.
- Rodriguez cracked double-figures scoring for the second time in three games, notching 11 points to go with a game-best eight rebounds, three assists and game-high-tying two steals.
- Rogers-Robinson chipped in eight points, two assists and a rebound over 20 minutes off the bench.
- NJCU actually held the advantage over Misericordia in points of turnovers (17-7), second-chance points (13-4) and points off the bench (21-10).

Up Next:
The Green and Gold kick off New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) play on Tuesday night, Nov. 21, on the road at #RV Montclair State University. The Gothic Knights and Red Hawks are scheduled to tip at 7:30 p.m., following the conclusion of the preceding women's game as part of the first NJAC doubleheader of the season.